Driver of Ash’s Tour Bus Struck By Brick Thrown By Calais Migrant

Instagram / Tim Wheeler3 Dec 2015

A tour bus belonging to the Northern Irish band Ash has been pelted with bricks as it passed through Calais. The driver of the bus was hit by a brick which smashed through his side window, but although shaken by the experience, was otherwise unhurt.

The band were returning from a concert in Paris when the bus was attacked by migrants near The Jungle migrant camp. Lead singer Tim Wheeler, 38, posted a photo of the damaged bus on photo-sharing site instagram, commenting “An eventful 24 hours continued with us getting our bus battered with bricks running the gauntlet at Calais. Paul our driver took a blow to the face and was pretty shaken but is ok.”

He added: “We were going past the refugee camp at Calais and there was a large group on the road trying to stop trucks to climb on and it got a little dicey.” Fans of the band mostly posted messages of support, with comments such as “That sounds very frightening! Hope everyone is okay,” and “God that’s terrible, glad everyone is ok.”

Another joked “Your music’s not that bad!” However, one commented simply “#refugeeswelcome”. It is not clear whether the comment was intended to highlight the criminal behaviour of the Calais migrants or show support for them – many people both in the UK and on the continent continue to support the migrants, donating aid and services, despite the obvious danger they are putting people passing through the port in.

In addition to the constant stream of food, clothing, books and other goods brought to the camp by well-meaning Europeans, do-gooders have also offered services and education to the migrants. In October it emerged that a top French maître d’ was offering the migrants lessons in the art of fine dining and mixology.

More recently, the Spanish viol player and conductor Jordi Savall, who was named an UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2008, organised a concert titled “Calais Together” which was due to take place at the Jungle on December 17th.

Savall has now postponed the event until the spring citing safety concerns following the Paris attacks which took the lives of 130 people in November.